


Wait For Morning

by Nevanna



Category: Dollhouse
Genre: F/M, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 23:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6170692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nevanna/pseuds/Nevanna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After striking back against their greatest enemy, Tony, Priya, and Echo do their best to look after each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wait For Morning

**Author's Note:**

> This story fills the "loss of identity" square for the Hurt/Comfort Bingo amnesty period. It takes place after 2.12, "The Hollow Men," so knowledge of both seasons of _Dollhouse_ is required.

A gunshot rings in Tony’s head, and he twists awake with a shout, clawing at the back of his neck. His own harsh breathing is almost louder than the chorus of voices that followed him through his dreams, thundering inside his skull: _eliminate the target, eliminate the target, eliminate…_

“Anthony?” Priya is sitting up beside him, solid and warm and _alive_. He’s not sure how long she’s been saying his name. Her bare shoulder is against his, and her deft fingers trail up and down his back. “You were dreaming, love,” she whispers. “It’s over. Come back to me.”

Her voice and her touch anchor him, as much as anything can. “I’m here.” He kisses her temple. “You can go back to sleep. I’m okay now.” He almost manages to convince himself that it’s true.

Priya curls on her side (she never sleeps on her back, if she can help it) and laces her fingers with his. He hears her breathing deepen and slow as she drifts off, and he tries to do the same, even knowing that the enemy can strike at any time, from anywhere ( _even from inside_ ). He hasn’t forgotten that.

The third time that his eyes fly open, all he can do is try not to disturb her as he slips out of bed and reaches for the clothes that he left on the floor hours ago.

\--

When Adelle DeWitt left to take care of some “loose ends” in another city, she told Echo that the three of them could stay in this house for as long as they wanted. It’s fancier than any place that Tony can remember visiting, let alone calling home.

On the first night, it was Priya who woke up screaming, loudly enough that Echo heard the noise from down the hall, and nearly broke down the door to the master bedroom. She held Priya tightly and whispered in her ear until the screams turned into quiet sobs. 

“I was running,” Priya said, as soon as she could form words, “and I _knew_ that I’d end up back in the chair if they caught me… I knew what they were going to turn me into, and _why_ , and I couldn’t do anything to stop it…”

The words _Sierra is sad at night_ flickered in Tony’s memory: a remnant of his five missing years. He brushed it aside. “That won’t happen,” he promised, reaching over to sweep strands of hair away from her face. “Not ever again. We won’t _let_ it happen.” 

“I guess I’m lucky to still be _me_.” Priya let out a shaky laugh. “But I’m not even sure who that is.”

“Welcome to the club,” Echo said. “We’ll have to get some T-shirts printed.” She gestured around the room with her free hand. “We’ve already got a clubhouse.”

Tony kept stroking Priya’s hair and didn’t respond.

He’s glad that DeWitt ended up on their side, and he’s grateful that they have a place to stay while they decide what to do next, whether it becomes a refuge or a base of operations while they make sure that Rossum can’t rise from its own ashes. He still can’t ignore how jumpy this house has made him since he first walked through the door. 

His own nightmares don’t exactly help.

\--

The lights are on in the kitchen, and the clock tells him that it’s closer to dawn than to midnight. Echo is sitting at the table, an empty glass in front of her. “Trouble sleeping?” she greets him.

“Looks that way,” Tony replies, opening the cupboard to the left of the sink. “What about you?”

Echo taps her head. “The gang and I are trying to work things out, but it still gets a little noisy in here sometimes.” 

He fills his glass with water, gulps it down, and turns to look at her again. “Does it scare you?”

“I try not to let it," she tells him. “You don’t have to give me the concerned-puppy face. I hope it doesn’t come to this, but Priya already made me promise to ask for help if I get, you know, overwhelmed.”

“Not a terrible idea. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want that to happen to either of us.”

“I guess you know something about having a bunch of people in your head at the same time.” Echo frowns at him. “You’re not still linked with them, are you? ’Cause it might’ve helped if you’d mentioned that at some point.”

“I’m not,” Tony says. “I just… I still remember what it was like.” There was a stab of pain at the back of his neck, before the group-mind flooded in all at once, crowding out his thoughts and memories. Everything faded away except the simple clarity of the mission, and a sense of purpose that he hadn’t thought he’d ever experience again. He didn’t question a single order until his gun was trained on Priya and his hand was locked around her throat, and she was calling to him, determined to save them both.

He’s awake right now because he dreamed about firing a bullet into her heart. 

“You fought back when you needed to,” Echo says. “Isn’t that what matters?”

“It usually is,” Tony agrees. “I still wouldn’t have gotten free of them if you two hadn’t been there.” 

She nods. “I guess it’s a good thing we stuck together. You know, in more ways than one.”

“Maybe we should put that on the T-shirts,” Tony suggests. He’s suddenly a little less worried about what’s in his head, or about what _isn’t_. Maybe that feeling won’t last the day, or even until the sun rises, but he’ll take what he can get.

Priya slips into the room as the sky lightens. Tony wraps an arm around her, she rests her hand on Echo’s shoulder, and the three of them wait in silence for the day to begin.


End file.
